An original member of the Lydian String Quartet, violist Mary Ruth Ray is an internationally known performer who has received critical acclaim throughout the United States, Europe, and Russia. She has been on the faculty of Brandeis since 1980, teaching viola and chamber music, and was appointed Chair of the Music Department in 2005. An active soloist and chamber musician, she has performed as guest artist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Bard Music Festival, Apple Hill Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, and Juneau Jazz and Classics, and she was invited to present a featured concert/demonstration of the Bach Cello Suites for the 13th International Viola Congress. As member and soloist with Emmanuel Music in Boston, Ms. Ray has performed the complete cycle of more than 200 sacred cantatas by Bach as well as chamber music of Debussy, Brahms, Schubert, and Schoenberg. She is a recording artist with CRI, Nonesuch, Centaur, Harmonia Mundi, and New World Records.